Whenever a major honors show nears, there’s always a demand to include additional classifications to honor underappreciated efforts and satisfy the spirits of enthusiasts with niche passions.
My colleague made the case advocating for terror-themed awards. It would be amazing. The same goes for board games, this being someone's personal cause. Yet I need to apologize in advance if I try to elbow in front just as with other blinkered fanatics, I possess a compelling case for why my demand stands as crucial and important of all. The demand is this: There should be a classification for brain-teasing titles.
The Genre Classification Challenge
Categorizing art by genre isn't exact; opinions vary greatly, and typically start arguments concluding with vague boundaries. There’s a reason film award organizations steer clear of genre categories. But it is an essential concession within the realm of gaming, that demonstrate such variety they hardly constitute a single creative category.
To recognize the complete range of gaming accomplishments to gain proper attention, and to ensure all game types to compete fairly, specific award classifications remain vital.
Existing Game Classification System
The major gaming awards presently include genre categories for Action-oriented games, Adventure-action titles, RPG experiences, Fighting, Simulation and strategy titles, and Sports/Racing games. Together, these six categories effectively encompass a lot of ground, and you can find room accommodating various experiences.
Different situation exists for puzzle games. No suitable classification appears to put them. Examine these examples from recent excellent titles, each quite distinct: structural challenges in a particular game, the pulse-pounding block-matching of another game, engaging interpersonal challenges from additional release. Which classification works between these six categories? Simply put, no category fits.
The Representation Problem
Many instances occur of brilliant puzzle games released every year without proper recognition in entertainment awards, except when they manage to fit classification types such as Mobile Game, VR/AR Game, and the highly challenging small studio competitions.
- An iconic brain-teaser got overlooked for anything in 2014
- Another creative title was excluded in 2019
- Well-received sorting experience was overlooked recently
- Just some brain-teasers managed to sneak into niche award types
Significance of Puzzle Games
Commonly they're compact experiences, yet the craft of the puzzle game is of massive significance. Iconic mobile puzzle games rank among the most-played games in the world and have been for over a decade.
The iconic tile-matching title competes with famous sandbox experiences competing to become best-selling game of all time; it additionally competes for best game of all time. Puzzle games are foundational for gaming as medium, and engaging with almost every other genre.
The Solution and Justification
Puzzle games wouldn’t have such difficulty. One could readily select a field of five with fascinating, diverse, deserving games each ceremony simply — actually, with challenge, since numerous excellent many worthy titles.
And to reiterate, these are games lacking appropriate categories at major gaming awards. Puzzle game makers are working at the hard edge interactive creation, producing among the purest expressions within interactive entertainment. Similar to movie stunt professionals, they merit acknowledgment. Let’s not keep them waiting 35 years.
